As a result of the bloodshed, despite the provocation, the prince of “fair Vienna” banishes Romeo. Romeo has time to consummate his marriage to Juliet and bid her goodbye. He hopes they will soon be reunited.
Juliet’s parents, meanwhile, press her to marry Paris. With Friar Lawrence’s help, Juliet comes up with a desperate plan to avoid her parent’s wishes. She obtains a drug that will make her seem dead for forty hours. While she I in this state, Friar Lawrence will send word so Romeo can rescue her from her family tomb.
Unfortunately, Friar Lawrence’s letter never gets to Romeo. Instead, he hears that Juliet has died. Grief-stricken, Romeo buys some poison with the intention of killing himself. Friar Lawrence discovers that Romeo never received the letter, and in horror rushes to Juliet’s tomb.
Too late. At Juliet’s tomb, Romeo encounters Paris who is mourning for his Juliet. In grief for the loss of Juliet, the two men fight and Romeo kills Paris. Entering the tomb, Romeo discovers the “dead” Juliet and, swallowing the poison commits suicide at her side. Friar Lawrence arrives at the scene just as Juliet wakes up. She discovers the body of her beloved Romeo beside and, taking Romeo’s dagger, stabs in the heart.
The prince and the parents arrive, and Friar Lawrence explains what has happened. Faced with the awful price their feud has cost them, the Montague’s and the Capulet’s swear to end the long bitterness between the two families. Many issues of social class, status and expectations are raised In the play, throughout the play many issues are conveyed subtly through the action and conversations. The issues are, however there to be interpreted, and that is what I will do for Act three Scene 5.
However the section I am concentrating is not the play in general, Act three scene five.
In this scene, the focus is on the development of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship against all oppression made clear by the families. This “emotional rebellion” if you like is consummated by Juliet losing her virginity, or “maidenhead” to Romeo (ironically we are not actually told whether or not Romeo loses his as well). We are not merely told about this, and its ensuing ramifications, but the point is emphasised by the predominant use of imagery.
The blatant imagery used in this scene is with the use of birds- the starling and the nightingale. Obviously, the Starling represents the morning, and the nightingale represents the night before. Now, the use of this imagery could represent a number of things. Firstly, it literally could represent what happened during the night and the joyful, fulfilled feeling the morning after. Or, it could represent an illumination, or revelation occurring. The use of the night and day represents a contrast between night and day. Or, put another way, the situation in which they were before, when they were suppressed and bullied into not being with each other, and the situation now; in which they appear to have broken free from these restraints and fulfilled what they wanted to do. “Be gone, away!” Juliet exclaims at Romeo who is lingering, still, after the night before. Juliet is insistent on Romeo departing, or at least that is what she would like us, and herself to believe. It gradually becomes clear that she is just as torn at the fact of whether Romeo should leave or stay. She is also torn between her emotions, and her overwhelming love for Romeo, and the expectations held by her parents. She demonstrates this by insisting on hi leaving when it is obviously against her will for him to do so. “for in a minute there are many days” Juliet says as she realises that Romeo really must go. This means that when Romeo is gone every minute away seems like days away from him she loves him so much. She then starts struggling to find reason for him to go.
Some class this as a tragedy, I beg to differ. They ended with each other, and whatever the circumstances, this is what they wanted to do.
By Nathan Jervis
